


Starboy

by The_Secret_Life_Of_Tea



Series: Novelties [3]
Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: ADHD, ADHD headcanon, Autism, Family, Fluff, Gen, autism headcanon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2018-12-07 12:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11623956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Secret_Life_Of_Tea/pseuds/The_Secret_Life_Of_Tea
Summary: The Jon can be a real pain, but that doesn't mean his family doesn't love him.





	1. Bedtime

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shy Guy (Tumblr Anon)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Shy+Guy+%28Tumblr+Anon%29).



> Here with another installment of this series, one that'll focus on The Jon. I'm basing this off RPs I did with my twin Aloof_Introvert, and gifting it to someone who's not on the Archive, but an anon on Tumblr who goes by Shy Guy. They have honestly made me so excited to write Defect, Conversion, and now, Starboy! I think you all will love this chater; I had lots of fun writing it, and I hope that shows. Here's to a new story!

The Jon’s footsteps reverberated off the walls of the hallway as he sprinted, skirting around the living room where he knew The Spine was lying in wait. In his haste, he crashed right into Rabbit, bouncing off like a marble hitting a metal post. Looming, Rabbit activated his photoreceptors. The copper automaton speared The Jon with his blue-green gaze. 

The Jon ducked left, then right, then dove between Rabbit’s legs, squealing as his oldest brother’s hands grazed his sides. Then he was clear, shooting across the manor with a new fervor. “NO!” The Jon shouted over his shoulder. “I don’t WANNA go to stasis!”

Rabbit sighed irritably. This was the same argument they’d been shouting over for a week now. The Jon was spooked or something, and decided that he certainly didn't need any sort of sleep, no thank you, sir. At first they’d let him stay up; it wasn’t worth the battle.

But now, The Jon had started siphoning electricity from various appliances around the manor… Rabbit was angry enough to spit when he couldn’t access Pappy’s lab like he did each morning, and The Spine couldn’t heat his alloy in the microwave. Hiding like a guilty squirrel was The Jon’s way of avoiding their wrath; he’d hid out all afternoon. The two brothers had decided that was fine-- maybe he’d even go into stasis through sheer exhaustion-- up until the wifi went down. The Jon had discharged the sudden flood of energy surging through his circuits, sparking hard, and promptly set a heavy velvet curtain aflame. 

After putting the small fire out (luckily The Spine was equipped with a fire extinguisher filled with high-level coolant, an idea he’d put into play after being around his very, very accident-prone brothers), Rabbit had declared a bounty on The Jon’s head. First to catch him won five dollars from the other and hearty bragging rights.

Thus, The Spine had set up shop in the living room, knowing The Jon would eventually return for his beloved teddy Bronzey, held hostage by the silver bot. He’d sat the fuzzy captive in a chair and wound rope around his tummy, then sat with a cup of (lamentably cold) alloy calmly. The Jon was never without Bronzey for more than twenty minutes at a time if he could help it, and when he inevitably came back for the bear, The Spine would snatch him up and that would be that.

Rabbit had taken a decidedly more hands-on approach, which he was currently regretting. “Y-y-you’re a slippery one, little guy,” he called after The Jon, hands settling on his hips, “but sooner or later, you’re go-gonna hafta calm down!”

...Or so he fervently hoped.

The Jon, after around thirty minutes, realized he was missing someone very important to him. Where was his beloved Bronzey? He couldn’t leave the bear alone! Bronzey was incredibly skilled at mischief-making and needed The Jon around to make sure he didn’t do anything too naughty. He pulled his gloves over his fingers to secure them further, deliberate and determined. 

He needed to find his teddy.

\---

The Spine didn’t look up when he saw a flash of gold skitter by the doorway to the living room. He knew his quarry was drawing near, and he didn’t want to spook him away.

Slowly, The Jon tiptoed in, eyes settled warily on The Spine. He swept his gaze across the room, gasping when he saw Bronzey, detained and restrained. His teddy’s fearful look induced a rage in him, and he turned to The Spine with a vicious twist. 

“How could you?!” The Jon cried, and The Spine lowered his copy of To Kill A Mockingbird, keeping his expression neutral. 

“Well, button, drastic measures had to be taken,” he said in a soothing, careful sort of voice, but The Jon wasn’t having any of it. 

“You didn't hafta kidnap him,” he started, but the plates on his neck prickled suddenly, and he swallowed, turning around…

To see Rabbit standing right in front of him, cutting off his only escape route. 

“Oh, milkshakes!” The Jon whimpered as Rabbit advanced. He came closer, closer… closer still, until the youngest bot was practically backed up into The Spine’s lap. Suddenly, The Spine lunged forward, winding his arms around The Jon’s middle and lifting him into the air.

Rabbit grinned. “Good wrangling, b-b-b-b-bro,” he said smoothly over The Jon’s yelping and fussing. The Spine smiled, shrugging modestly.

“Aw, it was nothing, deputy Rabbit. Grand idea teaming up, the poor kid didn’t expect a thing.”

The Jon squawked, “Not a kid!” His declaration was somewhat undermined as The Spine shifted his weight, tossing The Jon easily over his shoulder. 

“Time for stasis, buckaroo,” he said, and The Jon went limp as an overcooked spaghetti noodle, pouting. 

Sometimes, he really, really, really hated his big brothers.


	2. Bedtime, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to make this chapter longer with a line break, but I decided to post what I have tonight as a chapter and make a new chapter tomorrow. Happy reading! Also, shoutout to steampoweredsans on tumblr for reblogging my fics!!! You rule!

The Jon huffed as The Spine toted him across the manor, pausing to gently kick the door ajar so he could squeeze through with his armful of little brother. Rabbit closed the door behind them.

“Now, now, don’t pout,” The Spine scolded. He sat the brass bot down onto his Power Rangers comforter, then bent at the waist, untying The Jon’s converse sneakers. 

The Jon simply pouted all the harder. 

Rabbit joined The Spine in helping to undress The Jon, unbuttoning his shirt with a smile. “H-h-hey, at least you got to stay up an extra two hours, Jonnycake. With all that runnin’ around, you sure wore us d-d-d-d-d-dinosuars out.” He grinned widely when he saw The Jon stifling a smile of his own.

“Aw, hey, is that a smile I see tryin’ ta’ work it’s way outta your mouth? You’d better let it out b-be-before it gets jammed in there or somethin’,” he advised. “Here, lemme help…” And his nimble fingers raced up and down The Jon’s sides, making him wriggle and fight off laughter. 

“The S-Spine, can I get a hand here?” Rabbit chuckled, and soon The Spine’s fingers joined Rabbit’s. Oh, his tickles were even worse! He had long, long piano fingers, and they were perfect for tickling the ornery out of an ornery brother. The Jon couldn’t help but drop his valiant effort and burst into giggles, pushing at their hands helplessly. “No-- ahaha-- noooo!”

“Okay, okay, we’ll stop,” Rabbit said, dropping his hands. “But y-you’ve gotta get a good night’s stasis, Jonnyboy. Elsewise you’ll end u-u-up jus’ as grumpy as this guy without his alloy in the mornin’.” He gestured at The Spine, who rolled his eyes but didn’t bother commenting, choosing instead to slip The Jon’s blue polka-dotted pajama shirt over the littlest bot’s head. 

“There we are, Jon,” The Spine said, dusting off his hands. “Now, I think it’s time to rest your eyes, yeah?”

The Jon’s bottom lip stuck out immediately. “Nuh-uh.”

“C-c-cowboy…” Rabbit pleaded.

“No…!”

“Goose…” This from The Spine.

“Nooooo…!”

“Jon.” The Spine warned, brows coming together.

“NO!” The Jon wailed, trying to get to his feet. Rabbit pushed down on his shoulders, overpowering him easily-- after all, Rabbit was literally a ton heavier than The Jon. He frowned as The Jon writhed and tried to kick him away. The Spine grabbed his foot to stop him from striking Rabbit and glowered down at his misbehaving brother. 

“Jon, don’t kick him. Tell us what’s wrong, little one,” The Spine requested quietly. Instantly, The Jon went quiet, clamming up as he had for the past three days.

“Nothin’,” he whispered, ducking his head. Rabbit looked at The Spine worriedly, but The Spine simply shook his head. They couldn’t force him to tell them what was keeping him from stasis; all they could do was offer love and support and try to at least get him to bed in the hopes that he’d shut down for sleep.

Even so, he hesitated for a moment before giving in. “...Okay, Jonny. You still need to sleep-- that means no getting up for a glass of water or a goodnight story, because right now, the most important thing is getting you into stasis.”He tucked Bronzey in beside The Jon, who latched onto him immediately. 

“Mine,” he mumbled, and Rabbit rubbed his back gently. 

“C-course he is. Now, try to sleep, little bro.” With that, the two robots left, closing the door.

The Jon clutched Bronzey close, whispering in the sudden darkness. “I’m scared, Bronzey.” He paused to hear what the wise bear had to say. “...No, they don’t know… I can’t jus’ tell them.” Another pause. “Well, what do you know?” The Jon groused. “You’re a teddy.”

He settled in, hoping to spend the night awake, but he felt his eyelids flickering closed. His body relaxed, and he sank into stasis like a stone to the bottom of the sea.


	3. Realities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short chapter tonight; I'm getting over a small case of heartbreak and need a bit to get my bearings. Happy reading anyways!

The Jon jolted awake thirty minutes later, gasping for breath. Gory images floated by his eyes, yet didn’t disappear when he looked straight on at them. He drew the blankets up to his chin.

The Jon always had issues keeping reality and imagination apart. His daydreams were legendary, causing him to space out for hours on end as they played out in his mind. His dreams were so vivid that the next morning would bring disappointment that they were not, in fact, true. And when he dreamt, things were revealed to him. Subtle clues and hints at larger events slowly connected themselves together like pieces of a picture puzzle, and eventually they became coherent, clear steps to the next event. 

But never to this extent did his dreams bleed into reality. He could see the product of his nightmares standing before him; he felt a shock shudder through his systems when he blinked and it was gone. 

Toes curling, The Jon swallowed down his fear. It was thick and cold, like a milkshake made of coolant. It took a few gulping breaths of air for him to calm a little. When he looked down, his nose wrinkled.

His boiler had leaked, and he’d wet the bed in his fear. He hummed in embarrassment, covering his face; he felt like a child, and it wasn’t fair, and he was cold and scared and… he gathered up his courage and ran down the hall to The Spine’s room. His footsteps caused the floorboards to creak, but even so, The Spine didn’t notice him, so consumed was he with… was that Rabbit?

Rabbit was sobbing convulsively, hands tucked into his face and scratching at the plates there. The Spine held him close, murmuring comforting words to the distressed bot. He seemed at once relieved and overwhelmed when he caught sight of The Jon. 

“Why, hello there, Jonny,” he said, and Rabbit sniffled, pulling his face from The Spine’s chest and giving The Jon a weak smile. 

“Um, is he… is he okay?” The Jon murmured. He drew closer to the bed. “C’n I do anythin’ to help?”

“Don’t think so, Jonnyboy,” Rabbit said, mustering up his charisma. “I’ll be r-r-r-rrrr… right as rain in a few minutes!” The Jon didn’t seem too convinced, but he dropped it. “Um, I…” he looked down at his pajama bottoms, biting his lip at the water stain.

“Oh, Jon,” The Spine sighed sympathetically. “That hasn't happened in years… well, you know the drill. Go dry off and I’ll get you some new clothes.”

The Jon nodded and scurried off, confused. He hadn’t seen Rabbit cry in quite a long time, and it was rather concerning… was he the problem? He knew he could be a real handful to take care of sometimes, but honest, he didn’t mean half the mischief he found himself mired in! It just came to him, and he couldn't help it. 

For the first time, The Jon thought maybe his brothers would be better off without him.


	4. Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a smaller chapter, but I wanted to get it out!

The next day wasn't much better, unfortunately. The Jon was frustrated and exhausted; Rabbit was snappish; and The Spine was at a loss as to how to help his brothers. The silver automaton settled in his usual seat at the head of the kitchen table. His brow creased in worry when The Jon stumbled in on unsteady legs, Rabbit following him with a scowl on his face.

Rabbit’s expression softened as The Jon lost his footing. Luckily, he caught himself on the back of The Spine’s chair, but he looked miserable as The Spine stood. His hands planted on his hips, he spoke firmly.

“Jon, did you get any sleep at all last night?” 

The Jon shrank back, fingers tapping on his lips. In his nervousness, he bumped back into Rabbit, who caught him and held him gently. 

“Um, y-yeah,” he mumbled into his hands. He peeked out from between his fingers at his brothers. Rabbit looked concerned, while The Spine’s faceplates stayed stern. 

“Now, Jonny, I don’t want to accuse you of saying something untrue… but are you lying to me?” The Spine asked, approaching the wayward bot and frowning down at him. Jon shrank back and shook his head, oil tears gathering in his eyes. He was just so very tired…

Rabbit rested his chin on top of The Jon’s curls, holding him in a hug from behind. “Little guy, you need to go get some rest.”

The Jon swallowed thickly. “I’m not a little guy,” he whispered. Rabbit and The Spine shared a fond look over his head. 

“Sorry, Jonnycake, but you're our little guy. You’re thirty years younger than us, and as your big brothers, we know what’s best. And right now, you need to go into stasis,” Rabbit told him. “Here, I’ve got a good idea. Go get all the pillows in th’ manor, Jon, we’re gonna make a pillow CASTLE!”

The Jon’s expression had become faraway, though. He snapped himself out of it and gave his brothers an odd smile. “Okay.”

\---

The Jon moved through the halls carefully, pausing every so often to look behind his shoulder. He didn’t want his brothers tailing him. 

He was leaving for their own benefit, not just his own, he reasoned to himself. Yes, he could stay up as late as he liked without any brothers to make him go to stasis… but they wouldn’t have to go chasing him around or worrying about him or anything. They’d be better off, he just knew.

The shadows snarled and paced alongside him, so he moved his dancer’s feet as quick as he could. He’d be out before they noticed.

Packing was easy; the only thing he really needed in the world was his best friend Bronzey. The Jon snatched him up and tucked him under his shirt, the teddy bear’s face poking out from his collar. Then, he opened the window and slipped out.


	5. Brother, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm here! Just updated Bearcat, and figured I should update this too. More to come with this as well!

The sky sure seemed huge this late at night.

Planets twirled about in their set paths, sticking in the atmosphere for a glimpse and then turning away from earth with their noses in the air. The Jon smiled at the thought.

His thoughts were… odd, compared to others. The only reason he knew this was because of the looks people gave him when he let one out of his mouth. Even The Spine didn’t understand when the music flashed bright red before his eyes; even Rabbit didn’t understand when he slipped up and called him ‘her’. Like a clock ticks just a second more quickly than all of the others, The Jon saw things that people saw later-- if they ever saw them at all. 

His conversations were held in his head, Bronzey, and out loud alone. He’d talk to his brothers, sure, but he felt like water. Only the surface was trod upon, while whales and sharks and all kinds of fantastic creatures twisted and turned underneath. It hurt.

He pushed this out of his mind, wiping the oil from his eyes. He wished he was on the wifi with them, at the very least. His brothers were the bestest big brothers in the whole universe, and he hadn’t even said goodbye.

A glow caught his attention. The sun was rising. The colors melded and separated into shades before his eyes, stunning him into silence. It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. His fingers fluttered in appreciation, showing his sheer joy at the sunrise.

A shriek sounded off to his left, and he about jumped out out of his exoskeleton. It was the awful sound of gears grinding together, shearing their cog-teeth off one another until they were jagged. He recognized it from when he’d almost been crushed for want of deep pressure; the very thought of it set his teeth on edge. 

He peered around a tree to stare at the very familiar sight in front of him. There stood a vine-covered robot, mouth filled with moss. It spilled out from between his teeth, a mocking, grotesque green. The Jon stared.

The robot made another scream, inhuman, horrific… but The Jon did not recoil, nor did he run away. He approached the bot and laid a hand on his forehead. “Brother,” he said softly. This was the robot that had been haunting his dreams day and night. 

“Hatchworth.”

**Author's Note:**

> The Spine calling The Jon "button" affectionately comes from a wonderful cowboy book called "The Good Old Boys" by Elmer Keaton! I figured The Spine would read that book, honestly.


End file.
